Katharine Hepburn, according to Connecticut Public, preferred slacks, button-up shirts and simple, practical shoes when she was off screen. In 1985 the Council of Fashion Designers of America gave her a Lifetime Achievement Award for her relaxed, casual style, as the Reading Public Museum describes it. I think about that a lot when I shop designer shirts for women, because the shirt is the one piece that never needed to be anything but a good shirt. The designers below just make it a little sharper.

 

Start with poplin. Britannica defines it as a strong fabric woven in a rib variation of plain weave, with fine, closely spaced crosswise ribs, and it notes poplin is used for shirts and women's wear. In practice that means a shirt that holds a crease at the collar and a line at the cuff. Prada has the most here, and I like how different they read: the oversized cotton poplin shirt in blue and in pink, the tie-neck cotton poplin shirt in blue, and the crystal-embellished poplin shirt in white, which is the one for when you want a plain shirt to look dressed.

 

Loewe is the easiest place to compare small decisions. The Double L cotton poplin shirt comes in brown and blue, and the cropped cotton poplin shirt in white sits right at the waistband of high jeans. Miu Miu's cotton-blend poplin shirt in beige and black is the quiet pair. Fendi's piqué-trimmed shirt in white, Gucci's cotton poplin shirt in white and Alaïa's oversized cotton poplin shirt in black are the ones I would wear with tailoring.

 

Then the shirts with a bit of drama: McQueen's draped cotton poplin shirt in white, Stella McCartney's peplum cotton poplin shirt in blue, Burberry's logo ruffled shirt in white and Vivienne Westwood's cotton poplin shirt in blue. When you try any of them on, check the shoulder first. The tailor B. Kreps says the seam should sit right at the edge of your shoulder, not past it or pulled inward. Oversized ones are the exception, so judge those by sleeve and hem.

 

A few more poplin shirts sit in this group too. Prada's cotton shirt, Pucci's gradient poplin shirt, Miu Miu's poplin shirt jacket, High Sport's Kurt shirt and Harithand's tied poplin shirt are the ones I would try on first, and Co's gathered halter tunic is the loosest, most summery take. Tibi's New Shirting Gabe oversized shirt and Theory's cutaway shirt keep the crisp white and pale blue idea going.

This group is where the shirt turns into a layer. The checked and striped shirts, the denim ones and the overshirts are the pieces I actually wear over a tank in October, open, with the sleeves pushed up. CottonWorks says the Oxford weave is sometimes called a 2 x 1 basket weave and is a common construction for shirting, which is a good thing to know when you touch a few of these: a weave you can see tells you the shirt will have a little texture and some body.

 

Dries Van Noten does checks and stripes better than almost anyone here. The checked shirt in burgundy is my pick for jeans and a black coat, and the striped shirt in white is the one that goes under a sweater. Maison Margiela's checked cotton shirt in gray is calmer, and Toteme's checked cotton shirt in green is the one I would wear with plain trousers. Acne Studios has a striped cropped cotton poplin shirt in blue, which works with a high waist and a long coat.

 

For something warmer, Moncler's checked wool-blend overshirt in brown is the jacket-shirt, and Róhe's checked cotton flannel shirt in multicolor is the soft, slouchy one, and the flannel is the one I would sleep in if I were not wearing it to dinner. God's True Cashmere's Blue Uniform plaid cashmere shirt is the plush option, and it is the one I would handle gently.

 

Now the denim. The Frankie Shop's Deira denim shirt in blue, Prada's denim overshirt in blue, Fendi's cotton-blend denim shirt in blue and The Row's Gavina cotton chambray shirt in blue are four different ideas of the same color. Chambray is lighter and drapier, so The Row's reads like a shirt, while the Prada reads like a jacket. Try both over a white tee and see which one you reach for.

 

The striped ones deserve a second look. Givenchy's sculpted striped poplin shirt, Prada's striped button-down, The Latest's Diana striped poplin shirt and Jamie Haller's cotton Elbow Essential Shirt all play with stripes at different widths, while Co's workwear Tencel plaid shirt is the roomy one. Good American's Poplin Easy Shirt, Rag & Bone's Connie stripe shirt and Madewell's oversized western denim shirt are the easiest to throw on.

Silk shirts are the ones that make an ordinary outfit look like you thought about it. I wear them with jeans, with a slip skirt, or buttoned all the way up with tailored trousers, and they never look like I tried too hard. The trick is to pick the one with some structure or some print, because a plain silk shirt can look limp by lunch.

 

Gucci has two here: the striped silk shirt in blue and the silk jacquard shirt in white. The jacquard is the more formal one, and the stripe is the easiest to wear on a Tuesday. Loewe's caped silk twill shirt in beige has a cape across the shoulders that does the work of a scarf, and the Double L gingham silk twill shirt in green is a clever way to wear a check without the cotton. The Row's Lula silk satin shirt in white is the plain one, and plain is the point.

 

Etro does print. The printed silk shirt in brown and the printed silk satin shirt in orange are for the days I want the shirt to be the whole outfit. Khaite's Bodine asymmetric silk satin shirt in green has a hem that moves, and Asceno's Maya checked silk shirt in multicolor is the one I would wear with plain denim. Róhe's wool and silk shirt in beige is warmer, a shirt for the first cold days. Fendi's lace-trimmed silk georgette shirt in beige and in black is the softest of the group, and the lace makes it a shirt for evening.

 

Prada's tie-neck Marocain-silk shirt and GWYN's Eldridge silk shirt are the softer end of the group. Françoise's Blake silk shirt has a scarf tie, Hevron's Soraya is a semi-sheer silk, and Citizens of Humanity's Tullah is the plain satin one. The grid also holds silk organza blouses from Khaite, Brandon Maxwell and Kamperett, which are blouses more than shirts, so I would wear them as the dressy layer.

 

What I would skip: silk on a day you plan to sit in a hot room, and a pale silk shirt under a tight bag strap. Silk shows every mark. I would also skip rolling the sleeves of a satin shirt past the elbow, because it creases in a way that never quite comes out.

My test is short. Put the shirt on, button it, and check the shoulder seam against the edge of your shoulder. Raise your arms, and see whether the hem comes untucked. Then look at the collar. If it stands up on its own, it will look sharp, and if it collapses, it will look relaxed, and both are fine as long as you wanted that one.

 

Washing is where silk gets ruined. The standard advice is to wash silk apart from heavier clothing, check the care label first, and never twist or wring it, because that can damage the fabric. So I press the water out gently in a towel and hang the shirt to dry. For the cashmere and the wool blends, I follow the label and treat them gently as well.

 

The best designer shirts are the ones you wear more than you save. Pick the one that fits your shoulders, pick the one that works with the trousers you already own, and then wear it three ways: tucked, open and buttoned to the top. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Plaid Shirts and Poplin Or Oxford.